Bird of the Week – Spruce Grouse

Sometimes overlooked among its more common cousins, the Spruce Grouse is arguably the most handsome of Alaska’s boreal chickens. This handsome fellow was strutting his stuff along Quartz Lake Road. Perhaps more than his cousins, the Spruce Grouse seems to favor crepuscular light, the times around sunrise and sunset. The low light makes photographing this species a bit of a challenge. Because these birds dine mostly on spruce needles, their meat has a turpentine-like flavor. As a result, there’s not much hunting pressure. Yet there’s not a lot of Spruce Grouse around. For more bird photos, visit Frozen Feather Images.